PROVIDENCE - The R.I. Public Transit Authority is no longer considering the I-195 Redevelopment District for its long planned transit hub, the agency announced Monday.
The announcement comes nearly eight months after the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission agreed to hold off trying to sell the Parcel 35 and more than three weeks after the Oct. 1 deadline for RIPTA to make a determination.
In a statement Monday, RIPTA Interim CEO Christopher Durand said the agency is now “evaluating several potential locations with high priority given" to those "in close proximity to the Providence Train Station," vowing to hold additional public meetings “to share the ideas that have been developed.”
After RIPTA’s board of directors in January approved a $16.9 million contract with Next Wave Partners to begin developing cost estimates, design options and conduct site assessments, the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission
agreed to delay marketing or negotiations with any other parties interested in the parcel, which is located on the west end of the I-195 district near Interstate 95 in Providence.
Public funding for a bus hub would come from a $35 million bond for mass transit infrastructure approved by voters in 2014. But many transit advocates have opposed the relocation of the transit center away from Kennedy Plaza because potential sites that have been under consideration are not as centrally located.
In a statement Tuesday, Providence City Councilman John Goncalves applauded RIPTA's decision, saying the “vast majority” of his constituents oppose anywhere other than Kennedy.
The Providence City Council is looking to strike language from the city’s Comprehensive Plan it felt was an endorsement of relocating the hub out of Kennedy Plaza. However Josh Estrella, a spokesperson for Mayor Brett P. Smiley, said the final decision on the hub “will ultimately be made by the state.”
Durand said Next Wave is now "seeking additional engineering information, which will allow the consortium "to make a more informed formal recommendation for a potential site."
Requests for comment from RIPTA were not immediately returned.
On Tuesday Olivia DaRocha, a spokesperson for Gov. Daniel J. McKee, said the administration
"continues to coordinate with RIPTA and is "supportive of a site that can leverage rail service as well as bus service, creating a convenient, multi-modal opportunity."
RIPTA previously said public feedback to date shows a preference among transit riders for a location close to the Providence Train Station. The agency's website notes on its Frequently Asked Questions page that the Downtown Transit Connector "will run directly from this new transit center to the train station" and "will be coordinated in a way that makes sense for passengers."
RIPTA had considered building a transit center at Providence Station but "the development and usability for that space is extremely limited," according to its FAQ page.
Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com.
